1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sorting apparatus for use in combination with e.g. an automatic photographic printer for sorting prints generated from the printer.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical conventional sorting apparatus of the above-noted type is shown in FIG. 11. To briefly describe this apparatus, prints 40 discharged one after another from a discharge opening of a photographic printer not shown are received on an upper surface of a fixed receiver table 30. Then, when prints 40 of one negative film roll are produced, a plurality of movable members 31 protruding upward from the receiver table 30 are translated to one side of the table 30 as illustrated in FIG. 11(b) to move the prints 40 to cause them to drop onto to a belt conveyer 29 disposed on this side. In this manner, the apparatus effects a sorting operation of the prints.
With the above convention, however, the prints 40 are caused to drop onto the belt conveyer 29 from an obliquely upper position by using the movable member 31. Hence, if the movable members 31 are driven too fast, this will result in irregularity in the location on the belt conveyer 29 onto which the prints 40 are dropped. Further, when dropped onto the conveyer 29, the prints 40 tend to be scattered about. On the other hand, if the movable members 31 are driven slowly, this will incline the prints 40 obliquely downwards from the receiver table 30, so that these prints 40 will `collapse` from the receiver table 30, as illustrated in FIG. 11(b). Then, in this case too, the prints 40 when dropped will be scattered about as illustrated in FIG. 11(c).
In addition, in many cases, the movable members 31 need to move prints 40 of various numbers and sizes. Then, even the scattering pattern of the dropped prints 40 may be irregular. Accordingly, such irregularity in the sorted or un-sorted conditions of the dropped prints would invite a problem in the subsequent process of the prints.